NA Speaker's office yet to receive Vawda's resignation as an MNA: sources

• Faisal Vawda has told IHC that he has resigned as an MNA.
• NA Speaker's chamber says they are yet to receive resignation letter.
• The minister is facing a disqualification case in IHC over dual nationality. 

The matter of Minister for Water Resources Faisal Vawda's resignation has caused confusion after the PTI leader told the Islamabad High Court (IHC) that he had resigned as an MNA but the NA Speaker’s office said it hasn't received the PTI lawmaker’s resignation yet.

The minister, who was the second MNA to cast his vote in the Senate elections being held today, informed the IHC that he has resigned from the National Assembly. His stance was submitted to the IHC soon after he polled his vote in the lower house of the Parliament.

The IHC is hearing a disqualification case against the minister for holding dual nationality.

Read more: Election Commission imposes Rs50,000 fine on Faisal Vawda in disqualification case

The PTI leader’s lawyer told the IHC that his client has resigned from the assembly, adding that the petition is no longer maintainable following the resignation.

The lawyer had also presented the resignation before the court.

Soon after hearing the arguments, the IHC reserved its verdict in the disqualification case being heard against the minister.

NA says resignation not received

However, sources within the National Assembly speaker’s chamber stated that they have not received Vawda's resignation.

Officials privy to the development said the legislative department of the lower house has not received the resignation. They said that according to the rules, the resignation is “confirmed” once it reaches NA Speaker Asad Qaiser.

Read more: Federal minister Faisal Vawda may have hidden his dual nationality from ECP

“When the resignation was not received, then how can it be approved?” said the officials. One the resignation is received, it is forwarded to the Election Commission of Pakistan, they added.

Faisal Vawda dual citizenship case

Vawda had won the 2018 general election from Karachi's NA-249 constituency.

In January of last year, an investigative report published in The News had revealed that Vawda may have committed perjury by falsely declaring in an oath to the ECP that he did not hold any foreign nationality.

According to The News, Vawda was in possession of a United States passport at the time he filed his nomination papers on June 11, 2018. The minister remained an American national even when the scrutiny of his nomination papers were completed.

Read more: IHC says no objection if Faisal Vawda was not US citizen

The Supreme Court of Pakistan, in a past judgment, had categorically ruled that candidates who hold dual nationality are supposed to submit a renunciation certificate of the foreign nationality along with their nomination papers.

The same judgment had previously led to the disqualification of various lawmakers, among them being Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) senators Saadia Abbasi and Haroon Akhtar.